Is air travel the next frontier for social networking?

We're not flush yet, either. But that doesn't mean we're staying put. We continually scan the horizons for romantic places to visit, no second mortgage required. Portugal's City of the Seven Hills is one of our current finds. It's where you can feel as if you're a visiting celebrity, even if you don't appear on lists compiled by Forbes. Feel retro-chic glamorous as you stroll around the cobblestone streets of this small city of 490,000 people. Sip cappuccino with a view of a majestically restored medieval fortified cathedral. Then glance at your better half in disbelief, because you can spend the night in an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century house for about $140 a night in peak season. Pousadas de Portugal, which translates roughly as "inns of Portugal," are 40-odd country former castles, monasteries, fortresses, and palaces, ranging in size from 9 to 51 rooms. Some inns are located in restored monuments. Others are hybrids of modern hotels and historic properties. Learn more at the site of Pousadas de Portugal. Standard hotels are even cheaper. Upgrade without breaking the bank. As we predicted in our Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2011 story, Portugal's debt crisis is leading to bargains for tourists in what has long been a relatively affordable Western European nation. Most Portuguese speak decent English (unlike their neighbors in Spain or France), reports ABC News. The weather's typically lovely in Lisbon year round. Late spring, summer, and autumn have only a few days of rain each month on average, though in August temperatures can reach the 90s. The shopping is old-timey fun, especially in the neighborhood called Príncipe Real ("Prince Royal" in English), with its independent shopkeepers reclaiming townhouses painted in crimson and pale yellow. For more details, let me quote shopping-obsessed New York magazine: In Chiado, rediscover nearly extinct brands at A Vida Portuguesa, like Oprah's favorite all-natural Claus Porto soap or whimsical Bordalo Pinheiro plates. Treat yourself to a proper pair of gloves at the tiny Luvaria Ulisses, open since 1925. Get your hands massaged and measured, then choose a pair (or, at $88, two!) among a selection of fine-leather styles. What about the food, a critical part of any vacation? Let me just quote ABC News about the cuisine: Hearty Portuguese meals features dishes such as feijoada (bean stew) and cabrito (goat), and basic local restaurants called tascas offer up the best lunch bargain across the nation. The menus usually feature plenty of fresh fish out of the Atlantic as well as dried, salted cod. (bacalhau) How about the nightlife, you ask? It's true that centuries of history still weigh down the old town, but that doesn't stop local residents from looking toward the future. According to Monocle, the city's artists, young musicians, and entrepreneurs, are making (port-flavored) lemonade out of the lemons they've been handed by the financial crisis. Concerts and theater performances are up by double digits as venues such as Nimas, a converted cinema, draw indie acts. Fashion and design museums lie at the heart of urban renewal projects in refurbished historic buildings, such as in the Parque Mayer theater district. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Top Budget Travel Destinations for 2011 Portugal: Two Friends Explore Lisbon and Beyond Algarve, Portugal: Where the Guinness Man Goes on Vacation

Upstart distillers are reviving the craft-spirits scene by combining old-world techniques with modern recipes. Even better, they give visitors a seat at the tasting-room bar. Brooklyn, N.Y. You might call Brad Estabrooke's cleverly named Breuckelen a micro microdistillery. After all, it produces only one type of gin and the full tour takes all of 20 paces. Fine by us. That leaves more time to sniff out the rosemary and ginger notes that set this year-old drink apart. brkgin.com, tours free, tastings $3. Park City, Utah Producing spirits since 2007, High West Distillery & Saloon is Utah's first legal distillery since 1870. A more amazing first: It's the only ski-in distillery we've seen. High West offers three tours a day and an on-site gastropub with hearty fare to soak up the label's eight spirits. highwest.com, tours free, tastings $20. Columbus, Ohio A two-year stint in Switzerland inspired Greg Lehman to open his vodka- and gin-based Watershed Distillery last year. It also led to the distillery's unofficial pastime: Hammerschlagen, a drinking game involving hammering nails into a log. Is that really a good idea? watersheddistillery.com, tours $5. Madison, Wisc. At Death's Door Spirits, you can do one better than a distillery tour and actually help kick off the production process. Each fall, fans take a weekend and trek 200 miles north to wooded Washington Island, where they pick wild juniper berries for next year's gin. deathsdoorspirits.com, tastings by request. Portland, Ore. Since it opened in 2004, trailblazer House Spirits has produced aquavit, gin, and whiskey—and inspired a slew of local competitors, like Bull Run Distilling Co., opened by an HS founder in 2010. Guided tours run only on Saturdays, but the tasting room is open five days a week. housespirits.com, tours and tastings free. —Beth Collins MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL 10 Smallest Bars in the World A Barfly's Guide to San Francisco The Czech Republic's New Brewery Hotels

Lately, whenever I open my facebook account, scores of photographed meals beckon invitingly from photo albums with such "creative" titles as "Food," or "Delicious Food," or "Yummy Delicious Food." Facebook and Flickr, among others, seem to promote food worship with (aptly named) groups like I Ate This and Natural Cooking Food Photography Club. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('335bb7f4-6067-4e83-ab17-c0ac8de39740');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)Indeed, hundreds if not thousands of websites and blogs (one favorite: parlafood) are devoted to photographing food. Food porn—that is the glamorized styling of food—is very big right now. According to the New Yorker "The point is to get very close to what you are filming, so close that you can see an ingredient's "pores" (you should believe the dish is in your living room). Travel shows like No Reservations and Bizarre Foods are dedicated to the glorification of food. Even travel blogs dedicated to showcasing meals seem to be popping up left and right with a goal of taking you on the road, one juicy mango-and-lamb shawarma at a time. There are food photography courses, food photography fan clubs, and food photography books. We document everything from our gourmet cooking feats to our romantic candlelit meals to our adventurous culinary trysts. Traveling in particular seems to warrant the immortalization of meals. I even see this in the small Austrian restaurant in the West Village where I wait tables. At times the cameras are discreet—iPhones and blackberries disguised as texting tools—and at others they are ostentatious digital numbers that capture every crumb. But what is it about food that makes us want to snap photographs like there's no tomorrow? The French philosopher Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said, "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." By that token, perhaps in photographing our food we are creating a history of where we have been; a timeline of who we are over the years captured in meals. Foods we eat while traveling mark adventurous and daring periods in our lives. Our culinary battles at home indicate a nurturing, protective era, while our expensive restaurants dinners mark those special, once-in-a-lifetime events. But even if this is so, I'm guessing who sees the photos has a lot more to do with it. Eating is such a social affair, that bragging about the food we eat seems like a natural extension of the communal dining experience. Or maybe it's just easier than ever to take photos at meals now that every practically phone comes equipped with a digital camera? What do you think? Do you photograph your food when traveling? At home? Why? Are you sick of seeing food photos or do you lust for more? — Madeline Grimes MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: How to Take Better Food Photos Food Photography Advice from a Food Photographer The World's Best Street Food

Wednesday is the hardest day of the week. It's closer to the weekend than Monday, but Saturday and Sunday seem so far away after two days in the office. That's why it's prime time for daydreaming about your next vacation. Each Wednesday we ask our Twitter followers where they would rather be (#WishfulWednesday). Your responses have inspired us so much that we decided to compile a slideshow of all of the places you're crushing on. In some cases we were even able to suggest a deal to help you get there! From Vieques, Puerto Rico (shown here) to Kerala, India—join us on a photo tour of the places where you'd rather be right now. Are you on Twitter? Follow us: @BudgetTravel MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL Revealed: Nation's best coffee shops How far should the DOT go to protect travelers? Katrina, BP: New Orleans is back